Summer hiatus

For the next month, I can't guarantee much in the way of new posts: the next two weeks I will be in France, without the laptop or internet connection, i.e. the new definition of 'vacation.' Right after that, I will be in South Africa, where I have the privilege of helping teach within the International Research Ethics Network for Southern Africa (IRENSA) program at the University of Cape Town. After a couple of days in Johannesburg, I head up to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, to look in at our project 'Building bioethics capacity and justice in health' at the Kinshasa School of Public Health.

Update, July 11th: back in circulation. The visa for entry into the Democratic Republic of Congo only arrived at my hotel in Johanneburg 12 hours prior to my flight to Kinshasa. The Embassy of the DR Congo in Pretoria moves in mysterious ways, including not picking up the phone. And now Kinshasa. Dry, clear skies, dust. But too much army and police in the streets for anyone's good, after a member of the political opposition was gunned down in the street a couple days ago.